Hello everyone. I am new to this forum. I am 29 years old, male, from India.

Has anyone tried being on an Ayurvedic diet or a Tibetan medicine diet, where you eat what is suitable to your bodily constitution? Today is my 4th day on a diet that I took to after reading a few books on Ayurveda. My constitution is vata so I avoid foods that exaggerate vata.

I feel significantly different mentally. There is a sense of stability and calmness. I focus much better. I stay with particular feelings and thoughts longer rather than moving to the next one. On the physical level, the major change I notice is that I can relatively easily fall asleep at 10-11 PM, while earlier, most days I would have difficulty sleeping until 2 AM. I also feel a little less energy physically, but that change is very mild and it is not bothering me. Sexual desire is also a little less, and again, this small change does not bother me.

Has anyone else tried a similar diet and would like to share experiences?

This type of knowledge is very important because it speaks to our actual condition, ie. we are having a temporal body which ages, becomes sick or unwell, and which is made up of elements, which are constantly interacting with the elements we perceive as exterior, which may or not be in a greater state of harmony based on how we eat, our lifestyle, etc.

If your body or your heath are important, which they are, then ayurveda/ tibetan medicine are important for you.

Jikan wrote:How do you know what vata you are--that is, can you self-diagnose, so to speak?

Any recommended readings on this topic?

If you know your astrological chart, then you can also (some say) deduce your dosha from planets/points that aspect the ascendant and moon. For instance, sun and mars are pitta; saturn is vata. D. Frawley has a book on Ayurvedic Astrology.

Jikan wrote:How do you know what vata you are--that is, can you self-diagnose, so to speak?

Any recommended readings on this topic?

I am unsure if I understand your question. Do you mean 'how do you know which vata you are' or 'how do you know which energy type/dosha you are'?

The beginning of Ayurvedic treatment would be to determine which energy type you are. There are 3 basic types - vata, pitta, kapha (wind, bile, phlegm) and 4 more subtypes, or more according to certain classifications. You could to some online tests like the one Virgo recommended. Reading a good book on Ayurveda would make your diagnosis a little more credible. However, before making any major changes in your lifestyle or diet, I think it is good to see an Ayurvedic doctor in person or even on Skype if you can, so that you are not aggravating the wrong energy. Minor changes in diet and lifestyle may be harmless if you do it only by following a book.

I am relatively new to this topic but from what I have read, for beginners, Vasant Lad's 'Ayurveda: The Science of Self-Healing' is a simple book to start with, which covers most of the basics.

As a beginner, if you are more interested in a somewhat psychological/spiritual slant on Ayurvedic medicine, inclusive of the physical aspects, Maya Tiwari's 'Ayurveda: A Life of Balance' is a good book. To me, it is a bit too new-agey in its style, but useful nonetheless, especially in the way it shows how modern living disconnects us from our potential for health and well-being. It also has a lot of recipes that you will eventually need if you follow this path.

Both these books can be found on LibGen.

A more advanced book is David Frawley's 'Ayurvedic Healing: A Comprehensive Guide'. It has a lot of detailed information and recommendations, and I would recommend it if you have understood the basics and are curious to have a deeper grasp of the system. However, a large portion of what Frawley writes about in this book is perhaps best practiced under the supervision of a trained doctor. I am reading it currently but will not do everything that is present in the book until I see an Ayurvedic doctor.

Robert Svoboda is also an author who I find quite knowledgeable and you might want to see some of his books.

Now, if you meant 'how do you know what vata you are' - then the answer would be totally different. There are 5 types of vata and all of us have each of them. However, the aggravation of each may be linked to particular illnesses, although I am unsure if it is possible to be so specific. An advanced book on Ayurveda would be helpful to answer this question but I do not know which one.

Oh boy - did I get wind today - for the first time in a long time. I have had a busy couple of weeks. Last week I only had one day off, not two, and on my day off I drive out to Mass to see my Guru, which was excellent. I drove back that night though, and back to work for another five days. The last of which, I had an odd shift which disturbed my sleeping pattern. i was up a lot earlier than usually, and eating at different times. Then, I had a day off and I went back to Massachusetts,

Quite a bit of travelleing (travelling is a killer for wind), plus I had foods which were too heating most of the week.